John became New Hope’s Lead Pastor in February of 2015. John was previously a pastor for a church in Madison, WI where he served for nearly 17 years. Go Badgers! Originally interested in becoming a lawyer, he discovered a passion for serving the Church.

John is married to Corrie, who teaches art in Lake Oswego. They have two daughters, Eden (born 2007) and Jubilee (2010), two crazy dogs, and one fish. John loves books, good coffee, a hearty debate, most sports, backpacking in the wild, and Jesus figurines. John spends his time hanging with family and friends, exploring the PNW, and trying to keep up with his doctoral studies. He is a recovering Lakers fan and is all in on the Blazers. Many people are praying he repents of his love for the Cowboys. John’s favorite saying is “all is grace” because everything good, beautiful, and true is a gift.

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Denise still cannot believe God’s goodness in bringing her to Oregon for her first ministry position at age 23 and letting her stay for decades! Denise grew up in Colorado on a farm and left for the BIG CITY of Houston, Texas to attend college at 18, then landed in Albany, Oregon.

Denise earned her Masters of Divinity from what is now Portland Seminary and New Hope is the fourth church she has served in the past 35 years. She is married to Fred Douglas and has two sons, Erick and Brian, both in their 20’s. Denise enjoys really good coffee, the beauty of the outdoors, stories told well, and finds that walking with Jesus is so full of life, mystery and change that every day is packed with meaning.

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Mike is one of those dreaded California transplants. He moved to Oregon to snowboard, but found Jesus instead. Over the past decade, Mike worked as an associate pastor at a church in Lake Oswego and Church Partnership Director for an organization serving in Rwanda, Africa. Although Mike's role as Executive Pastor is focused on the administration of the church as an organization, his desire is to be engaged in pastoral ministry and to see people transformed into the image of Christ. He's married to Stefanie, and together they have four kids, Ruby, Tess, Caleb, and Phineas.

Mike enjoys time with his family, classic novels, woodworking, hiking, running, and long walks on the beach.

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LeRoy has a passion for introducing kids to Jesus through the Bible, community, and fun. With a masters degree in teaching he brings a lot of insight and expertise to helping your child(ren) grow. LeRoy is married to Gina and they have 6 kids: Addison, Titus, Eleanor, Willa-Jane, Odette, and Miriwyn. He is active in community theatre as an actor and director.

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Seth Overby is taking the lead as our Worship Pastor. Seth is a gifted musician who has led a number of churches in worship. After Beka and Seth married in 2015, Seth served as the Worship and Arts Director at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California. Through that season, God led them back up to the Portland area.

Since then, Beka and Seth have been leading worship at Hope City Church in Milwaukie as well as working with the music and production teams at Beaverton Christian Church and Willamette Christian Church. Beka and Seth are excited for this new chapter of ministry here at New Hope and believe God is doing special work in and through this community!

They have two boys, Jones and Shepherd, and are expecting a third son in June!

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Jess Anders oversees the Prayer Ministry at New Hope. A graduate from Portland Seminary with a Master of Arts specializing in Spiritual Formation and Creation Care, Jess brings a depth of experience in ministry. Over the last 15 years, Jess has served in churches in the Portland area as a Worship Arts Pastor, Children's Pastor, Elder, and various volunteer roles. Her passion is to help others connect to God with the many unique ways to engage with prayer.

Jess has her roots here in Portland, Oregon, and can tell you of the days when the sasquatches ran wild. She is married to Mike Anders and has two daughters, Larkin and Lynley. In her off-time, you may find Jess in her garage making art or out on a hike with her family.

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Jerry Schmidt is part of one of New Hope’s founding families, helping to start the church in 1972. He has a passion for helping people experience God’s love and the power of community. He also oversees New Hope’s care ministries, Adult Bible Fellowship, seniors groups and activities, and Deacon Ministry.

When not at New Hope, Jerry enjoys gardening, hiking, reading, woodworking, and watching the Blazers (when they’re hot). Most of all, he enjoys spending time with his two adult children, their spouses, and his three wonderful grandchildren.

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Josh has been serving in ministry for over ten years. He, his wife, Christine and their three high energy boys moved to Portland so Josh could complete his Masters of Divinity at Multnomah Biblical Seminary. He currently serves full-time as both the Director of Production and Men's Community Pastor at New Hope.

He and Christine have been married since 2006. He loves spending time with his family, reading comics, enjoying his wife's baking, and all things tech.

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Omar was born in Guatemala. In 1990 he moved to the Los Angeles area where he met his wife Rosie and they were married in 1993. Looking for a better future for their kids, they moved to Portland, Oregon in 1994. Nineteen years later, Omar and Rosie started a family and are enjoying their life with Sucely (7), Rosie Omary (5), and Selvyn Omar Jr (1). Omar likes to spend time with his family.

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Dena lives in Happy Valley with her husband, 2 kids, 2 dogs and 2 cats. In her downtime, she loves going for walks in her back field, reading late into the night, and playing video games.

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With a heart for helping others succeed, Laura supports New Hope behind the scenes where she can problem solve, coordinate multiple people and tasks, and help others accomplish the 'big picture'. She is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho where she earned a degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis in Business.

Laura loves spending time with friends and family, catching a good movie, hiking, traveling and trying new things!

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Beka is our Operations Coordinator and leads our Rooted ministry. With eighteen years of experience serving the church both vocationally and in volunteer capacities, she brings a wide variety of lived experiences, a deep love for the Church and a desire to help reach the hurting and broken with the love of Jesus through outreach and community. As a Portland native, Beka enjoys accompanying her family visiting parks and hiking (rain or shine), participating as a professional cheerleading soccer mom and personal chauffeur to her sons, and leading worship alongside her husband Seth. Being mom to Levi (20), Jones (6), Shepherd (4) and Dallas (8 months) is the greatest joy of her life. Beka studied Theology at Multnomah University and Pastoral Care and Counseling at Hillsong International Leadership College.

Steve came to ordained ministry in 2000, after a career in business. A life-long student, he has an MA in Psychology and an MBA. He served for fifteen years with a community church and then in a regional pastor role in California before migrating to Portland and New Hope Church.

Steve and Judi were married in 1974 in San Francisco. Raised a boy and a girl, and have discovered (arguably) God’s greatest gift: grandchildren – one of the best reasons for a move to Portland. When not recreating with his grandsons, or cooking with his granddaughter, Steve can usually be found either at Powell’s tracking down a book, or in a quiet corner reading one.

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Steve has been married to his best friend Rose for 40 years and has two kids; Loren and Carolyn and three grandchildren. He's inspired by God and seeing creativity in action. His first job (and his first business) was as a paperboy and now works as the Facilities Director and New Hope. If Steve could vacation anywhere, he would visit Portugal, Spain, Andorra and Italy.

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A New Hoper since 1981, Kellie was an elementary educator and computer trainer for many years before joining New Hope’s staff almost a decade ago. She helps organize all the behind-the-scenes details that make the Sunday morning services happen. Helping to oversee print & digital communications, Kellie also performs many administrative functions that help keep the whole church running smoothly.

She and her pilot-husband, Bill, have one grown son. They enjoy travel, breakfasts out, managing their suburban “ranch”, and their two cats.

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JoAnna is a new transfer from Mt. Scott Church of God into the Kids Community as Coordinator. It has always been her desire to help kids learn about the love of Jesus and see them develop their relationship with God.

She lives in Happy Valley with her husband of 20 years and three busy teenagers, Marcel (18), Joey (16) and Emmanuel (14). A few things she enjoys is catching up with friends over coffee, playing board games, cooking and spending time with family.

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Christine is the co-leader of the Student Community and Elementary Area Coordinator for the Kids Community. She has been working with youth and children for a decade, and has three boys of her own: James (13), Cole (7), and Eli (5). She has been married to her husband Josh for 14 years, and loves spending time with him and her boys.

When she is not editing videos, dancing to children’s songs, or rehearsing a memory verse, she spends her time drinking tea while reading, playing board games, or building computers with her husband.

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Tabitha has been on staff as the 3-K Coordinator since September 2018, and before that as an intern (since 2017). She is currently studying Psychology (with an emphasis in Family Studies) online at Corban University, and really enjoys her opportunity at New Hope to work with kids and families. She lives in the foothills of Mt. Hood with her family (parents & 5 siblings).

When not working or studying, Tabitha enjoys being involved in the Portland musical theater community (either onstage or backstage) with her whole family, or vacationing at Disneyland. Her hobbies include snuggling with her pup Teddy, drinking coffee, and listening to 80s music.

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